London's 'Hopper' fare lets you get free bus rides around the capital

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Individual routes across the capital are to get their own Tube-style branding with buses, as well as bus stops, being clearly labelled in their respective colours. More than 60 red buses will be given designated colours in an initial trial in Barkingside, East London.

Transport for London (TfL) plans to extend this trial to Hayes in west London later this year, before rolling out the changes to other parts of the city. Dates and locations have not been announced and WIRED has contacted TfL for more information.

Elsewhere, main destinations and interchanges will be shown on the side of the buses to give passengers at-a-glance directions. New bus maps will similarly show landmarks, as well as interchanges with the Tube and overground trains.

Photos posted by Khan on Twitter show a bus and stop on the 150 route between Becontree Heath Leisure Centre and Lambourne Road colour-coded in light blue.

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More than 9,300 buses operate across 675 routes in London from 19,000 bus stops. In 2015/16, TfL said London's buses covered a staggering 493 million kilometres and, on average, carry 2 billion passengers a year. Current bus stops display a location name, direction of travel and stop-specific timetables on printed maps. Certain routes additionally have digital displays featuring a countdown.

The entire bus fleet is low-floor and wheelchair accessible, except for a small number of vintage Routemasters running on two heritage routes in central London, and the changes to the colours of buses have been designed with such accessibility in mind. Khan has also promised that 95 per cent of stops in London will have accessibility features this year, up from 89 per cent in 2016.

“By bringing these new distinctive route colours to areas of the network, we’re making it as easy to navigate areas of London by bus as it is by Tube,” Khan told the Evening Standard.

Despite the number of buses across London, passenger numbers have reportedly fallen due to roadworks and congestion. To encourage more people to travel by bus around London, which will ultimately help reduce pollution levels, Khan recently introduced the Hopper fare.

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With Hopper, passengers can make a second journey free of charge within an hour of taking the first. Khan announced Hopper last summer and it came into effect on September 12. It works for both pay-as-you-go Oyster and contactless card customers and the discount is applied automatically.

At the time, the mayor’s office estimated that 30 million bus journeys, currently costing £1.50 per passenger, will be made this way. The fare will also apply to passengers switching from bus to tram, tram to bus or tram to tram within an hour.